Let the Rain Fall
by rainbowspring
Summary: "That's Astoria Greengrass. Pretty little thing, but you best stay away from her if you know what's good for you." Perhaps if Draco had heeded this warning, he wouldn't be in this mess. But then, fate does work in mysterious ways, particularly in matters pertaining to love, life, conspiracies...and death.


**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Harry Potter****. **

Let the Rain Fall

It was drizzling that morning, and judging by the ominous dark clouds in the sky it would be pouring before evening; right now it was only mid-day. The young man in the carriage looked outside the window observed the dreary day dully. His pale grey eyes continued to take in his surroundings; he had already finished reading the documents on the way here, and had nothing better to do. He would be staying in a small town, he knew. A quaint olden Wizarding village. It was, he decided as he dully glanced outside, even more tedious than it had sounded. The carriage finally pulled in front of a house that was in reality relatively large,-about the size of a small manor- although the blond in the carriage found it to be fairly small in comparison to the exceedingly large mansion he normally resided in. But then, these were not normal circumstances.

"We've reached our destination now, Mr. Malfoy, "The driver informed him. Draco gave a curt nod in response and exited the carriage wordlessly. A pale gray cobblestone path led the way to the house, which was surrounded by a spiky black fence on the outside. The house was a beautiful but chipped shade of ivory. Every single part of it was white except for the door, which was blood red. As the driver Summoned Draco's bags to carry them for him inside, Draco glanced upwards and noticed a face in one of the windows. A beautiful pale girl with rather long golden hair was watching them.

"Who's that girl in the window?" Draco demanded.

"Oh, her? "The driver whistled wistfully as he brought Draco's things to the door. "That's Astoria Greengrass. Pretty little thing, but you best stay away from her if you know what's good for you. Any man with mischief on his mind who so much as even looks at her… well, let's just say they have Judge Turpin to answer to."

"Greengrass, you said? "Draco raised an eyebrow. He had gone to school with a girl by the name of Daphne Greengrass and had never recalled her ever mentioning someone named Astoria, and if she had gone to school with him, he was sure he would have remembered a girl who looked like _that_.

"Yup, "He answered absentmindedly as he opened the door, letting Draco enter the foyer. "I'll show you to your room then, eh? The judge had a case today that took longer than expected, so he probably won't be back for an hour or two." The servant, who looked no more than a few years older than Draco, led the way up a flight of green carpeted steps, using his wand to levitate Draco's belongings all the while. The walls of the house were mahogany in color, and seemed to be the type of walls that had invisible ears and heard everything anyone ever said or did. The temperature of the house at the moment was rather chilly too.

Draco and the servant proceeded to walk down the hallway, with the servant making comments along the way. "That there is the judge's study… you mustn't ever go in there without knocking."

"This here is Miss Astoria's room. It is off limits at all times to absolutely everyone except to a very select few… no exceptions."

"Why is it off limits? Draco raised a brow.

"Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it? "The servant boy smirked as they reached a door right next to the forbidden rooms. "You'll be stayin' in one of the guest bedrooms, "He opened the door revealing a small room with oak walls, a king sized bed, a dresser, and an empty bookcase. "Here's your things, sir. "He Summoned Draco's belongings into a neat pile into the ground as he spoke, before placing his wand back in his pocket. "Enjoy your stay. Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to poke around; I think I told you everywhere you aint to go." And, upon seeing Draco had no further need of him, he left.

(Line)

After Draco had finished unpacking, he sat on the bed, wondering over what he could do. He decided he would Owl his mother to assure her he had arrived safely; even after all these years, she still didn't view him as an adult, even though he was now nineteen years of age. Surely she was worried sick about him by now. If possible, it had seemed that his mother had grown even more overprotective of him since the war had ended. The Malfoys had narrowly avoided going to Azkaban, and Narcissa was still afraid of anyone trying to put her son in prison. In fact, he was amazed she had even let him come here, but she had let him go to school where he lived away from her months at a time when he was only eleven, he had argued when she protested against the idea, and besides, he was an adult now, she had no control over him anymore. He knew that last part not to be true though; yes, he was an adult, and legally speaking she count not control his actions, but he knew deep within his heart there was a part of him that would always obey his mother.

He knew he didn't have to make this trip; the Malfoys never had to pay any reparations for the war and were still wealthy enough that they didn't even have to work. However, the war had been over for over a year now and Draco was restless, sitting at home with nothing to do, so he had struck up a business deal with a man named Judge Turpin. Draco had heard that the judge had been in need of someone to analyze objects inflicted with Dark Magic from court cases, or that were suspected of being inflicted with Dark Magic, yet instead of bringing this to the Ministry of Magic's attention, he had specifically contacted the Malfoys, requesting their assistance.

Draco knew the judge had been just a few years ahead of his parents at school and that they had been friends, but that still did not explain why he had not called on the Ministry instead. He now looked at the clock that hung on the wall as he finished writing the letter to his mother. He had been here for roughly half an hour; he had used magic to unpack. The judge would not be back for a while. Perhaps he could go exploring around the manor until his return, he mused as his owl flew out into the torrent of rain outside.

He exited his bedroom, pondering over where to explore first. As he passed by Astoria's room, he recalled the Cockney boy mentioning that while Astoria's room was off limits, the judge's study was not off limits as long as he knocked…. He quickly banished this thought from his head. True, it would be tempting to look without technically breaking the rules, but he suspected it probably would be quite rude of him to do so, hence him deciding against it. He walked down stairs, not entirely certain where he intended to explore, but sensing the best place to go would be down. He noticed a narrow corridor off to the side and aimlessly ambled in that direction. He reached a green door and extended his arm out, ready to open it, when-

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Draco whirled around to find the servant from earlier, staring at him, looking absolutely appalled and terrified. "I-"

"Oh, sorry for yelling at you sir, "The youth apologized. "Me own fault really. Not at all yours so don't you go feeling bad; me apologies for startling you. I completely forgot to mention to you, the cellar is _out of bounds under any and all circumstances. "_

"Why? "Draco queried.

Before the other young man could respond, another voice answered instead. "Well, I see our guest has arrived."

Judge Turpin had just entered the room.

**A/N: The Judge Turpin used here is not the same exact character from Sweeney Todd, although you may find one or two similarities as well as differences… There definitely will be some echoes of Sweeney Todd in here, but it's not totally based off of Sweeney Todd. Also, Astoria will get to do much more as the story progresses. Please review!:D **


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